CSR AND SUSTAINABILITY: MISSION, GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN ITALIAN SMES. THE EXPERIENCE OF BOXMARCHE, A "CONVIVIAL" AND "TERRITORIAL" ENTERPRISE: TOWARD A "TERRITORIAL MODEL OF SUSTAINABILITY"

Is it possible to affirm that SMEs present attributes that facilitate (respective to large-scale firms) the adoption of CSR and sustainability strategies? Does a positive relationship between the adhesion to a culture of social responsibility and evolved systems of governance and accountability exist? Does the entrepreneur’s orientation depend on contextual factors, such as the socio-economic and cultural environment in which the firm exists? To answer these questions, the study utilizes a deductive and inductive perspectives of analysis. The central hypothesis is that the entrepreneur’s ethical framework depends both on personal values as well as on a synthesis of socio-cultural, anthropological and environmental factors. The work is divided into three main sections. The first one presents the theoretical framework synthesizing the existent contributions on corporate social responsibility and sustainability in SMEs and on ethics and values of the small entrepreneur, with a particular emphasis on the theory of entrepreneurial social success. The second part describes and interprets the principle findings that emerged from a qualitative study of an Italian “cohesive” SME (BoxMarche Spa) in which the tie between mission, corporate governance and socially responsible management practices was examined. BoxMarche is an exemplary case of best practices of CSR belonging to the Marches, an Italian region which is characterized by a dense fabric of entrepreneurship and districts. The last section closes the paper with concluding remarks providing some preliminary considerations on the issue from a specific small-enterprise perspective that can be taken into consideration for future research. The empirical study was developed through a qualitative research approach focus on the case study method which has the intent to develop propositions aimed at enriching further theoretical and empirical researches. The usefulness of the case studies also resides in the possibility of valorizing the experiences of entrepreneurs who are “champions” of corporate social responsibility and of recognizing the merit of people and businesses who teach them, while not undervaluing the possibility of a path toward CSR that starts “at the base” and is connected to the territory, favoring the application of best practices. Specifically, the case method constitutes a valuable instrument for “capturing” the diverse manifestations of socially responsible government and of stakeholder relationships, and for utilizing the results to attain cognitive aims and normative substance. The study first attempted to identify the central value present in the company, its translation into a mission and, consequently, its impact on relationships with stakeholders, its reflections on the structure of governance, and the presence of instruments of accountability. The key attributes were analyzed by adopting an interpretative plan that focused on the vision, values and commitment of management and a theoretical diagram was employed to identify the most relevant aspects of a “spirited business” (Lamont 2002). The approach also implied the need to identify those aspects of the system of governance in SMEs that draw on the positive actions comprising the behavioral models of firms that achieve a stable and structured approach to CSR and sustainability incorporated in the firm’s own strategic orientation, in its underlying mode of governance and in its system of internal and external reporting. Secondly, the analysis set out to trace the specific factors that interacted with the territorial context of the chosen firm. The propositions derived from the study are the following: Proposition one: CSR reinforces and facilitates the convergence between mission, governance, and accountability. Proposition two: Among SMEs, the orientation toward CSR begins with the entrepreneur and is a manifestation of both the values tied to the entrepreneur’s personal goals as well as the values tied to cultural and social variables in the territory from which s/he comes. In the SMEs where CSR is a characteristic trait of the corporate culture, the consensus of the owner-entrepreneur/top management and the focus on referents at the base of decisions characterize systems of corporate governance that are more transparent and “harmonized” and that reinforce the organizational cohesion, the business climate, and the trust factor. In addition to applying formal methodologies, these businesses are able to devise effective ways of engaging and relating to stakeholders, “grasping their essence,” pinpointing expectations, offering solutions, and creating cohesion around projects and values of ample breadth. They are testimonies of entrepreneurial passion; they are given organizational strength and intangible riches. There are essentially three strong points of the Marchegian SMEs of which BoxMarche is representative: deep territorial roots, familial synergies, and tenacity. The first of these, which finds expression in the adhesion to, and social consensus of, the territory, is an emblematic aspect of the Marches, part of the region’s genius loci. The case considered presents clear signs of that genius, which is marked by a work ethic, a strong sense of being an active member of a community in which each person rediscovers the pleasure and the usefulness of working with trust. The profile of “convivial enterprise” that emerge correspond not to a codified managerial model, but to a business “way of being.” Conviviality is not merely a feeling; it is an operative practice for organization and governance. In such contexts, in the absence of rigid forms of hierarchical coordination, the capacity of individual initiative remains vibrant. Convivial and territorial SMEs are those characterized by an active involvement in local development, because the business’ success issues from the same steps as the success of the territory. This translates into the creation of networks among local stakeholders: other businesses, public institutions, chambers of commerce, trade associations, banks, non-profit and citizen organizations—which all become nodes of a cooperative network whose end is to develop the territory. The socio-economic texture, defined in terms of “social capital,” social capabilities or civic-ness, is enriched by values, cultures and traditions tied to a specific community-space. It is therefore important to look also at those intangible factors that favor the development of CSR and to the sustainability of the SME. The Marchegian model of sustainable development that appeals to the territory’s businesses is premised on a challenge: the capacity of the whole productive, associative, unionized, entrepreneurial and institutional world to act and to be made to act in socially responsible ways, and thus to be territorially characterized in a unified sense. Thus, another development in the CSR debate can consider the following question: “Do best practices of CSR increase the social capital of the territory?” If so, then what role do SMEs play in constructing the structural components of the territory? The concept of Territorial Social Responsibility has not been adequately studied. Social responsibility of the territory is founded, therefore, on the rediscovery of shared values that the territory’s economic, social and institutional actors know how to reinforce, thanks to solid networks of relationships. The best practices of socially oriented Marchegian SMEs contribute to a model of territorial development rooted in the region’s particular socio-economic context.